📚 Basics: Contents (1/4)
  1. Send your first request, then refine it
  2. Five ingredients of a good prompt
  3. Upload files and images to ChatGPT
  4. Check AI answers and results

💡 Things you can do at this level

🔁 Cuts repetitive work

New to AI? Start here → Start 1. ChatGPT vs. Codex: what's the difference?

Last checked: November 10, 2026

Send your first request, then refine it

In one line

Keep the first request short, and the follow-ups specific
Instead of one perfect sentence, have a conversation while you look at the results.

The big picture

Illustration (may look a little different from the real screen)

Continuing a first request and follow-up fixes in the same chat
Click the picture to see it larger.

Follow along

Pick one small result

“Organize these meeting notes into a to-do table” is easier to start with than “Automate all my work.” When the result is small, it’s also easy to check whether it came out the way you wanted.

What you need
ChatGPT, or a Codex setup you can use. The text examples in this guide don’t need file uploads or a paid API.

Give ChatGPT the material and the result you want

Below is a made-up meeting memo. Ask the AI not to invent owners or deadlines that aren’t there.

📝 Sample memo (fictional)
Need a notice for next week’s event. Sam drafts it. Review on Thursday. No one assigned to photos yet.

Illustration (may look a little different from the real screen)

Turn this memo into a table of task, owner, and deadline. Write TBD for anything that's missing.

Sample replyTask: Draft the notice
Owner: Sam
Deadline: TBD
Other date: Review on Thursday
Photos: TBD

Turn this memo into a table of task, owner, and deadline. Write TBD for anything that's missing.

Sample replyTask: Draft the notice
Owner: Sam
Deadline: TBD
Other date: Review on Thursday
Photos: TBD

ChatGPT · Chat example

Check that it didn’t turn “review on Thursday” into “draft due Thursday.” Meanings that weren’t in the original can sneak in.

If you don’t like it, point to what should change

Instead of “Do it again,” try “Cut it down to just the tasks in 3 lines, and put items with no owner at the end.” It helps to say what to keep and what to change.

★ Compare them ★

Vague follow-up

Organize it better.

Specific follow-up

Keep the table, and change any deadline that isn't in the original to TBD.

With Codex, narrow down what you want changed

When changing a project, say which file or screen to change and what to change. It’s easier to follow if you first ask for the current state and a plan, then check the changed result.

What to check
Ask for the changed files, how to run it, and what it checked. Even if the AI says “Done,” check that it actually works on the real screen.

Prompts you can copy

Change the parts in square brackets to fit your situation, then paste it into ChatGPT or Codex.

Organize a made-up meeting memo

Organize the made-up meeting memo below into a table of task / owner / deadline. Don't guess anything that isn't in the original. Write TBD instead. Keep review dates separate from due dates. Need a notice for next week's event. Sam drafts it. Review on Thursday. No one assigned to photos yet.

Ask Codex for a change

In the current project, I want to change [the part I want to change] in [the screen or file]. First explain which files are involved and your plan for the change. Don't change anything unrelated. After the change, tell me which files changed, what you checked works, and how I can check it myself. Clearly mark anything you couldn't run or check.

Where people get stuck

Lots of people get stuck here. Find the one that matches your situation!

Quick check: The AI wrote a deadline that wasn’t in the original. What’s a good follow-up?

Answer: “Ask it to change any deadline not in the original to TBD”
Change deadlines that aren’t in the original to TBD, and check whether guesses crept into other items too.

Official sources

Next tip

Five ingredients of a good prompt →

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